Conditions for Sexual Interactions Between Wild Grey Wolves, Canis lupus, and Coyotes, Canis latrans

Genetic evidence for the hybridization of wild Grey Wolves and Coyotes was first reported by Lehmann et al (1991). Subsequent genetic and landscape-environmental analyses have attempted to grasp the extent of Wolf-Coyote crosses in North America. Since Wolves are normally territorial and thus aggressive towards Coyotes, hybridization events remain rare, not withstanding the taxonomic debates regarding Canis in eastern Ontario. In this paper I report on amicable interactions between Wolves and Coyotes observed in Wisconsin in recent decades and discuss circumstances that may lead to pairing between individuals of the two species

Use of Winter Dens by Porcupines, Erethizon dorsatum, in Wisconsin

Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) dens were monitored in Sandhill Wildlife Area in central Wisconsin between 1996-1997 and 2002-2003 to determine whether they displayed fidelity. Fidelity declined between years, with a higher proportion of Porcupines displaying fidelity to a specific den within a single winter than between winters. Yearlings displayed higher fidelity to den sites than adults. Fidelity was stronger among Porcupines occupying rock vs. tree dens. Familiarity with home spaces and onset of snowfall and snowfall depth also probably influence selection of dens

Annual vs. Multiple-Year Home Range Sizes of Individual Blanding's Turtles, Emydoidea blandingii, in Central Wisconsin

Most studies of home ranges occur over short time periods and may not represent the spacial requirements of long-lived organisms such as turtles. Home ranges of 18 individual Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) were measured using minimum convex polygons. Annual space use was compared to multi-year space use by individual turtles. We found a significant difference between annual home range size (25.5 hectares) and multi-year (two to six years) home range size (65.7 hectares; n = 18, P = 0.016). Caution should be employed when making management decisions based on short-term studies of long lived species

Characteristics of Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, Winter Den-sites in Living Trees in Wisconsin

Although Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) denned in a variety of structures in Sandhill Wildlife Area, Wood County, Wisconsin, hollow living trees predominated (67 percent). Diameter at breast height of den trees was significantly greater than that of trees in the surrounding forest, and den openings in living hollow trees were nearly twice the circumference of Porcupines. Porcupines probably do not prefer certain tree species over others; rather, they select species more prone to heart rot with cavities large enough to house a Porcupine

Over-wintering Characteristics of West-Central Wisconsin Blanding's Turtles, Emydoidea blandingii

Hibernation of adult-sized Blanding's Turtles was studied at two west-central Wisconsin sites between 1991 and 2008. Turtles arrived at hibernacula from mid September to early October, spending 126 to 216 days at these sites, and generally emerged in early April yearly. Sixty percent of females and 30 percent of males hibernated in natural over man-made structures as hibernation sites. Anoxic conditions near five hibernation sites ranged from 78 to 100 days. Shell temperatures of three turtles monitored over five winters remained at <1°C a mean of 2,274 hours each winter. Over the same period, four turtles' temperatures were between 0° and -1°C a mean of 302 hours. During the course of our study, hibernating west-central Wisconsin Blanding's Turtles demonstrated a remarkable degree of both cold and anoxia-tolerance similar to that observed among Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) and Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)

Paper Session II-B - An Approach to Shuttle Evolution

The benefits of evolving the current Space Shuttle into a system that can meet our country\u27s manned space transportation needs for the next 30 years are numerous. To address Shuttle evolution, NASA has initiated several programs over the past 2 years, including Assured Shuttle Availability (ASA), Technology Bridging, and the Shuttle Evolution System Assessment (SESA) study. ASA is a planned upgrade program that focuses on near-term supportability and operational cost reduction issues. The Technology Bridging program, led by NASA\u27s Offices of Space Flight and Exploration and Technology, identifies key technologies for movement from the laboratory to field demonstrations on the Shuttle and future NASA programs. In contrast to these somewhat gradual changes, significant quantum changes leading to a Block n upgrade of the current Shuttle system are being explored under SESA. This paper presents a systematic approach to upgrading the current Space Shuttle to a Block II system while building on and making use of more near-term upgrade plans such as ASA and Technology Bridging. Several options to block changes—based on requirements for increased reliability, improved robustness, lower operating costs, and overall enhanced capability—are discussed. Implications to flight and ground operations, and to the entire space transportation architecture, are also presented

Wolf, Canis lupus, Behavior in Areas of Frequent Human Activity

We report incidental observations of Wolves (Canis lupus) tolerating human activity in central Wisconsin. Three monitored packs raised pups in close proximity to varying levels of human activity. Wolf pups were raised <350m from rearing pens of the endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana), which saw daily human activity. One pack used cornfields as rendezvous sites within 175 m of a maintenance shed visited regularly by workers. Another pack centered their activities along a well-traveled state highway using both the verge and the road center for activity. Aerial locations of 10 yearling and adult dispersing Wolves were plotted to evalute human densities in natal territories relative to dispersal and post-dispersal territories. Township densities (mean = 9.02 humans/km2, SE = 4.015) and residential densities (mean = 5.59 housing units/km2, SE = 2.12 ) in natal pack territories were significantly greater (P <.01) for dispersal and post-dispersal township densities (mean = 43.98 humans/km2, SE =7.37) and residence densities (mean = 23.12 housing units/km2, SE =3.49). Furthermore, a pup negotiated the densely populated region of northern Illinois and dispersed from central Wisconsin to east-central Indiana, a distance of at least 690 km. As Wolves live in closer proximity to humans, living in areas of higher township and residential densities, they can be expected to be more habituated to people, increasing the probability of human/Wolf conflicts

Linking genetic kinship and demographic analyses to characterize dispersal:Methods and application to Blanding's turtle

Characterizing how frequently, and at what life stages and spatial scales, dispersal occurs can be difficult, especially for species with cryptic juvenile periods and long reproductive life spans. Using a combination of mark-recapture information, microsatellite genetic data, and demographic simulations, we characterize natal and breeding dispersal patterns in the long-lived, slow-maturing, and endangered Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), focusing on nesting females. We captured and genotyped 310 individual Blanding's turtles (including 220 nesting females) in a central Wisconsin population from 2010 to 2013, with additional information on movements among 3 focal nesting areas within this population available from carapace-marking conducted from 2001 to 2009. Mark-recapture analyses indicated that dispersal among the 3 focal nesting areas was infrequent (<0.03 annual probability). Dyads of females with inferred first-order relationships were more likely to be found within the same nesting area than split between areas, and the proportion of related dyads declined with increasing distance among nesting areas. The observed distribution of related dyads for nesting females was consistent with a probability of natal dispersal at first breeding between nearby nesting areas of approximately 0.1 based on demographic simulations. Our simulation-based estimates of infrequent female dispersal were corroborated by significant spatial genetic autocorrelation among nesting females at scales of <500 m. Nevertheless, a lack of spatial genetic autocorrelation among non-nesting turtles (males and females) suggested extensive local connectivity, possibly mediated by male movements or long-distance movements made by females between terrestrial nesting areas and aquatic habitats. We show here that coupling genetic and demographic information with simulations of individual-based population models can be an effective approach for untangling the contributions of natal and breeding dispersal to spatial ecology

Sensitivity of an ecosystem model to hydrology and temperature

We tested the sensitivity of a dynamic ecosystem model (LPJ-GUESS) to the representation of soil moisture and soil temperature and to uncertainties in the prediction of precipitation and air temperature. We linked the ecosystem model with an advanced hydrological model (JULES) and used its soil moisture and soil temperature as input into the ecosystem model. We analysed these sensitivities along a latitudinal gradient in northern Russia. Differences in soil temperature and soil moisture had only little influence on the vegetation carbon fluxes, whereas the soil carbon fluxes were very sensitive to the JULES soil estimations. The sensitivity changed with latitude, showing stronger influence in the more northern grid cell. The sensitivity of modelled responses of both soil carbon fluxes and vegetation carbon fluxes to uncertainties in soil temperature were high, as both soil and vegetation carbon fluxes were strongly impacted. In contrast, uncertainties in the estimation of the amount of precipitation had little influence on the soil or vegetation carbon fluxes. The high sensitivity of soil respiration to soil temperature and moisture suggests that we should strive for a better understanding and representation of soil processes in ecosystem models to improve the reliability of predictions of future ecosystem change